Meet the Serbian Berliner Behind Etsy’s Most Addictive Vintage Shop

Every so often, there comes an Etsy shop that becomes an addiction. One such store is SooLastSeason. According to its creator Zorica Stojanovic, the extra O is for dramatic effect and because “Etsy is a huge marketplace and ‘SoLastSeason’ was already taken.” SooLastSeason is a secret source for archival treasures: a simple Tom Ford–era Gucci black tank top with sexy leather straps, a flashy Moschino Jeans trompe l’oeil miniskirt, a funky John Galliano Lurex knit tattoo top. The Serbian-born, Berlin-based purveyor treats her page like a well manicured lookbook, presenting the clothes on her friends or people she finds on Instagram—in essence, very cool women—making it easy for curious shoppers to see how each piece might appear in real life.

Stojanovic’s knack for finding covetable items goes back to her time as an elementary school student in Belgrade when she started trawling local flea markets. “I was bringing home old clothing and I used to customize it,” she says. “I simply did not like what was on the menu in the shops back then. I’m still surprised when I refind a piece which I bought when I was 12 and it totally works now.” She entered the world of vintage dealing at at the age of 21 after graduating from a French design school in Serbia. Soon after, she began working for dealers, eventually setting off on her own in 2007 and then launching SooLastSeason in 2011.

Stojanovic will spend up to two months in Paris and accumulate upwards of 300 items—almost 70 percent of her inventory—but her native Serbia has proven to be a stellar source, as well. One of her earliest purchases was an authentic Chanel bag that she bought off of a Serbian auction site for about 100 euros then flipped for about 2,000 euros. According to Stojanovic, the more flashy items on her site from brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, or Moschino hail from Serbia. “They may not have a lot of money, but they like showing off,” says Stojanovic about her native country. “There, you aren’t going to find Comme des Garçons or [Issey] Miyake. When they [Serbians] are traveling, they go to Europe, not Japan.” One rare piece she did find back home is a Gianfranco Ferre vinyl and reptile coat that she now rents out from her Berlin showroom.

Stojanovic doesn’t buy based solely on brand names, either. In fact, her favorite pieces are from now-defunct labels like Spectors. “There are a lot of brands from the ’80s and the ’90s in France and they are unknown,” she says. “But the quality is equal to Dior.” Her places to search vary, as well. Stojanovic visits a range of flea markets, private clients, and thrift stores on her sourcing trips. “Sometimes even the tiny Red Cross shops can surprise you,” she says. That said, Stojanovic still finds deals at more high-end places, thanks to her bargaining skills. “I often visit pricey vintage shops where you can not buy clothing in order to resell because their prices might be higher than yours,” says Stojanovic. “But the shop owner may have a very sleek conventional taste and might discount some unwanted ’90s piece because their customers did not get it.”

Ultimately, SooLastSeason is grounded by Stojanovic’s personal philosophy. She notes how the rapid production of clothes is harmful to the environment and unsustainable, and considers shopping vintage the perfect antidote. She also prides herself on how vintage adds to the wearer’s individuality. “If you tend to buy some recognizable runway pieces, choose wisely and mix it with your favorite vintage finds,” she says. “I like when people have their own sense of style, when they actually understand fashion and [the] concept behind certain brands, when they take some designer’s vision and integrate it in a way that it becomes a part of their personality.” Sounds like a lifestyle worth buying into.